Eudaimonia
by EscapingxXxReality
Summary: What good were the memories of a little girl, if she had grown into a different woman? Had those memories helped shape her into who she'd initially become, or held her back from who she could have been? A story about re-discovering oneself. NonMassacre SasuSaku ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1

Here's the short introductory chapter to something I've been meaning to write for a while now. It takes place in a world where the Uchiha massacre did not take place, but other than that detail I'm going to be keeping things as close to the same as I can. This story is intended to be ItaSaku, so for those who are strictly here for that pairing, don't be thrown off at first. Haha. And I rated it T for now but the rating may go up later. Fair warning.

Anyways, I don't own Naruto. On with the show.

xXx

Sakura threw herself to the ground just as three kunai whizzed by, the air surrounding them thrummed with the subtle static of electricity. Rolling to her feet, vivid green eyes searched the surrounding area and thick canopy above for her assailant. Shadows danced among the leaves, stretching with the dying light of the day, but she could discern no other movement. Cautiously straightening, her hand grasped a kunai for defense as she sent out a surge of chakra to pinpoint the rest of her team and obtain some hint of how they were fairing.

It was just her luck that Team 7 would be ambushed by Kumo nin right before they crossed the border from Lightning Country into Frost country. Tensions were high between Konoha and Kumo these days-talk of war circulated often, but nothing concrete had been declared as of yet. They had strict orders not to be seen or identified while in Lightening Country, which meant this fight would end with only one team walking away.

It would be Team 7 who walked away, of course. They were notoriously known across nations and earmarked in bingo books. The Powerhouse Unit of the Leaf. Whoever her teammates were facing now, they would soon come to realize their fatal mistake in engaging them. The shinobi that targeted her had bombarded her with blasts of lightening, initially forcing her back to retreat further into the thick line of trees. No doubt to separate her from the others and take her out. It was a common strategy. To target the medic of a team. To take out the weakest link first. And she was the weakest- she knew that. Next to the Kyuubi Vessel, an Uchiha prodigy, and Sharingan Kakashi, who could she kid?

But just because she was the weakest didn't mean she was weak.

She was determined to prove that she could handle her own.

She would not be some damsel in distress like the old days.

Satisfied that her teammates' chakra were steady and strong, fluctuating normally as they battled against their own opponents, she brought her attention back to the trees surrounding her. They didn't need her medical expertise at the moment, but all the same she should try and finish this as soon as she could to preserve her reserves in case things on their end took a turn for the worse.

Lifting a leg, she sent a wave of chakra from her core through the appendage as she slammed her foot into the ground hoping to shake a few apples from the trees. The forest floor shook violently, the towering trees swaying dangerously. A thunderous crack sounded somewhere to her left, indicating one tree couldn't stand against the brunt of the attack. The noise almost overshadowed the light thud to her 4 o'clock, and she turned in that direction in an instant, eyes flashing in the twilight, to meet her enemy's kunai with her own. The metallic ring was soon followed by the shrill chittering of electricity, but she felt the burn enter her hand from her kunai before the sound even registered. With a low yelp, she released her weapon before more of the kumo nin's elemental affinity could be pumped into her, and swung her left leg in front of her hoping to create some distance. To her dismay, she connected with the man's sternum, only for the solid body to erupt in a surging current of more electricity.

'_Raiton Bunshin!' _Emerald eyes widened in surprise as she redirected some of her chakra to her lower body to help redirect the electricity coming from her left leg into her right leg and channeled it back into the earth she stood on. Her legs were throbbing in pain, and she could see light wisps of smoke emanating off the bare skin on her legs, but it was enough that she caught it in time before it could course through her entire torso instead.

"Dammit." She uttered lightly as she began to produce healing chakra throughout her legs. She needed to stop them from shaking if she had any chance of defeating this guy before one of her teammates came and did it for her.

'_I can't let that happen.' _The thought flitted across her mind, and worry flashed through her eyes as she searched the area with anxious vigor.

This guy was good. His electric affinity was one of the most impressive she had ever come across- barring Sasuke-kun, of course. She was actually mildly impressed with herself for thinking quick enough on her feet to redirect the previous attack back into the earth.

'_I wish Sasuke-kun had seen __**that.**__'_

But she couldn't let anymore Raiton jutsu hit her- there was just too much danger and possible side effects it could have on the human body.

If only he would actually face her long enough for her to get _one_ good hit in…

The hair on the back of her neck tingled, and she lunged forward into a cartwheel just as she heard a kunai whizz by her ear. She snapped back around just in time to see a few whisps of pink tendrils waft their way to the forest floor, but her enemy was still nowhere to be found. She couldn't even use his chakra to locate his position- every time she tried to sense it, she could feel it's traces all over the field.

'_It must be a jutsu he developed to aid him in his cloak and dagger type of fighting style. The coward.' _

She dodged to the right as another kunai whizzed past her, then again as two more came from the opposite direction.

Movement flashed from the corner of her eye, and she turned to see her opponent had appeared not 7 feet from where she stood.

'_Finally.'_ She smirked in satisfaction, chakra already channeling into her fists in preparation for hand to hand combat. Her upturned lips faltered however when more movement came from both the left and right to her as well, and a quick glance confirmed that there were four more copies of the Kumo nin standing around her. At the ground in front of each of them she noticed the array of kunai that he had been lodging at her throughout their battle. They formed a near perfect circle.

'_I fell into a trap.' _She couldn't help but think in dismay_.'How embarrassing.'_

She had enough time to feel the brief sting of self-depreciating disappointment before a shrill shrieking pierced the air around her, and the trees surrounding her disappeared in a white light. She brought her hands up in a last ditch effort to form the seals for any jutsu that may aid her, but her mind came up blank and her hands froze midair as electricity entered her body from all directions. She could feel the energy searing through her blood stream like lava and her body convulsed as her muscles tensed and spasmed without mercy. At her core, where her chakra coils had begun to disperse chakra for her jutsu, there was an intense burning as if she had swallowed the core of the earth itself. She felt as if she was catching fire from the inside out, and a sweeping wave of panic began to seep in when it felt like it wouldn't end. Like time itself had stopped to revel in her agony. There was a sharp metallic taste in her mouth, and all at once she was released from the prison her body had formed around her and hit the ground hard.

She was distinctly aware of the scent of burning meat, and could see the smoke rising off her chest, but a buzzing in her head was loud enough to drown out everything else. Although there was a strange sensation of intense tingling in her limbs, the sharp discomfort of pain was no longer there. She had a distinct feeling of detachment, like she was no longer inhabiting her own body. Her eyes rolled lazily upwards to take in the sight of the bright twinkling stars above her.

'…_But the sky wasn't visible through the trees…' _She thought, as the stars continued their colorful vivid dance. And then a darkness engulfed them just as suddenly as they appeared.

She briefly thought she heard her name being called in the distance before she succumbed to the embrace of emptyness.

"You could have at least brought her flowers, Teme." Naruto's scowl was one for the books as his dark haired teammate entered the small room and walked around to the other side of the still figure on the small hospital bed.

Dark eyes rolled in response but the Uchiha didn't deem it necessary to actually respond to the blonde sitting at the opposite side of the room.

"Even Kakashi-sensei brought her flowers." He waved a hand to absentmindedly and dark eyes followed the movement to the corner of a small table. Sasuke nearly scoffed at the single sunflower that was wilting dangerously over a vase- it looked like it had been snatched directly from one of the weedy fields south of the village.

"It's still an effort." Naruto rebutted, reading Sasuke's less than impressed expression perfectly. He had a lot of experience with having to pick up on micro expressions and body language when it came to his dark haired teammate. In their youth, Sasuke had been a lot more outspoken and expressive. But after training for two years with his older cousin outside the village on some extended mission, he came back more stoic than Naruto remembered.

He couldn't understand how that could have even happened- after all, he thought Shisui was a riot. Sasuke's extended exposure to him should have helped him develop a sense of humor, if anything.

But he supposed this change could have just been a sign of maturity in his friend. Even if he missed being able to rile him into fights like back when they were kids.

"Has she woken yet?" Sasuke asked, bringing the attention to the reason both young men were in the hospital in the first place.

"Not yet. Tsunade Baa-chan says there's a possibility that there was a lot of brain damage… " He looked at his feet, his voice lowering to almost a whisper. "We shouldn't have let them split us all up like that."

Sasuke didn't say anything, deeming instead to stare at the sickly sunflower. There were a couple ants making their way over the brackish bright petals. Definitely not store bought.

He could feel bright blue eyes boring into him, trying to determine if his feelings of guilt were on par to that of Naruto's.

"You know… you could visit her more often." Naruto shuffled uncomfortably before continuing. "I mean, I make sure to come every day- I don't want her to be alone when she wakes up. And I'm not even her _boyfriend_…" He trailed off.

"Jealousy is not a good look for you, Naruto."

The blonde scrunched his face up, about to retort when Sasuke continued.

"Besides, Tsunade assured us we would be notified as soon as she wakes up. Unlike you, I have a lot of clan responsibilities I need to attend to."

He leaned back in his chair, propping up a leg in the process. Naruto took in his calm countenance, his serene features giving away nothing as he looked back at him impassively.

"But it's been three weeks… aren't you even the least bit worried?" Naruto asked, his chest constricting at the thought that maybe they would never get the notification of the pink haired woman's return to consciousness.

"Of course I am." At the blonde's dismissive glance, the Uchiha continued. "She's strong. She'll pull through, Dobe."

Naruto was silent, seemingly deep in thought.

"Maybe… you should kiss her?"

"….what."

Sasuke's deadpan tone made Naruto backtrack.

"I just mean, you know… like all the fairytails or whatever…"

"You believe in fairytails. You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not saying I believe in them! I'm just saying Tsunade Baa-chan has already tried everything else and she hasn't woken up. Like it doesn't hurt to try, you know?"

"I'm not going to kiss my comatose girlfriend, Dobe. Especially not in front of _you._ It seems spending all that time with Jiraiya has turned you into a voyeur as well."

The sound of a chair screeching loudly against linoleum echoed throughout the sparse room.

"I'm not-! I wouldn't-!"

"Um… excuse me?"

The quiet, raspy voice startled both boys, and two pairs of eyes turned to meet emerald.

"I don't mean to come off as rude but…. Who are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's exuberant yell echoed through the room as he flung his arms around her.

The young woman stiffened in response, her arms coming up as if to push him back, but stopping halfway in uncertainty.

Sasuke caught the flicker of fear in her vibrant green eyes.

"Dobe, back off."

Naruto shot him a glare. "You back off." He retorted, rather childishly.

Restraining himself from rolling his eyes, the dark haired man slowly stood. "Look at her. Does she look like she wants to be touched? Did you even hear what she said?"

Blonde eyebrows furrowed in confusion, then Naruto flinched back thinking Sasuke meant Sakura was ready to pummel him for attacking her with a hug first thing after waking up. But the look on her face was something he hadn't expected.

She looked so worried- and afraid. As if she was their captive, not their beloved teammate and closest friend.

And then her words registered from the back of his mind, making his face scrunch further in absolute befuddlement.

"Wait what do you mean who are we?"

Her eyes darted between the two men, not responding but clearly waiting for some sort of answer.

"Naruto. Go get Tsunade."

Naruto and Sasuke shared a brief look before brilliant blue eyes flashed another worried look at the girl sitting ramrod straight in the bed between them.

"Yeah…. Yeah, ok." The flash of relief he had felt upon Sakura's awakening was slowly becoming poisoned with worry again, and he exited the room in a hurry, hoping Tsunade had some easy answers for them.

The girl watched the blonde man take his leave, and only when the last of his orange shirt swept through the door did she turn her eyes to the man standing on her right. He was closer to her than she was comfortable with, and the intensity in his dark eyes did nothing to quell her anxiety.

They merely looked at each other in silence for a few moments before she could no longer stand the intimate feel of the eye contact and looked away from him to her right, pretending to be interested in a rather sad looking sunflower.

The man cleared his throat softly.

"You really don't know who I am?" His voice was soft, probing.

Green eyes flicked back up to meet black, before looking back over towards the door.

She didn't really know what to say. The answer was clearly 'no', but both boys had made it very clear that she _should_ know them. The blonde had even looked wounded that she didn't.

Emerald eyes swept back up to the man next to her, really looking at him this time. Taking in the smoothness of his skin, the strong line of his jaw, the caution in his eyes, the shine of his dark hair. She scrutinized every detail available to her, willing something to be familiar.

But he was a stranger.

Her mind wandered to think of the people she _did_ know.

Not a single face graced her thoughts.

She tried to think of her own face.

Her mind presented her with nothing.

Frustration welled in her chest, making it feel tight and heavy. She clenched her teeth, desperate to remember _anything. _

…Only to be presented with emptiness.

She turned her face upward, her expression open and vulnerable.

"Who am I?" Her voice trembled slightly, and Sasuke had the feeling she may have been on the verge of tears. He mentally thanked whatever gods were listening when Tsunade strode into the room, Naruto right on her heels.

The Hokage stopped just at the edge of the bed, bringing a small flashlight out of her coat pocket.

The woman exuded confidence and quiet authority, so Sakura didn't flinch when she brought the flashlight up and shined it into both her eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Um…." She took that moment to take stock of her body. She was… stiff. And sore. And itchy. She looked down and noticed for the first time that almost all of her visible skin was wrapped in bandages. But she didn't feel any pain. Only the sudden overwhelming urge to scratch every inch of her body.

Tsunade watched her, worry etched in her brows.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Pink hair swayed with the shake of her head. The vibrant color took her by surprise, and she fingered a tendril cautiously as if it may sting her.

A deep sigh left the older blonde woman as she took all of Sakura's reactions in.

"Do you remember your name?"

"No…"

"Who's the current Hokage?"

Sakura's head cocked slightly to the side with that question.

"Hokage…. The village leader?" _Konoha._

Naruto's expression perked up at that response.

"Yeah Sakura-chan! Who's the last Hokage before I take the reins?!"

A face slowly formed in her mind, and she struggled to remember the name that was attached to it.

"Isn't it… um… ahhhh…"

Four pairs of eyes were trained on her, each twinkling with varying levels of hope.

"S-… Sarutobi!" She shouted with excitement, her mind solidifying a face wrinkled by age and kind grey eyes, proud of finally remembering something. Her smile faltered however when the other three people in the room seem to wilt with the answer.

The blonde woman sat at the edge of her bed, her hands grasping the small flashlight tightly in her lap. Honey brown eyes regarded her, warmth intermingling with pity.

"I am the current Hokage." She began, her voice soft and full of patience. "And you are my apprentice, Sakura Haruno."

The pink haired woman said the name slowly, testing the taste of it in her mouth. Objectively, it was a very pretty name, she decided.

"These are your teammates, Naruto and Sasuke." She indicated to each as she said their name. "You are a kunoichi of Konoha, and one of the most accomplished medic nins the world has ever seen."

_'Konoichi…' _She was a ninja? Her eyes looked at the first two people she had seen upon waking up, taking in their countenance. The dark one's quiet reserve, the intelligence behind his eyes. The strange whisker marks on the blonde, who seemed to emanate an almost tangible energy. For the first time she noticed kunai holsters adorning both of their bodies. She looked at the woman sitting next to her – _the Hokage-_ and though she could see nothing that gave her away as a fighter, her instincts told her this was not a woman to be crossed. She looked back down at her own hands, encased in bandages. She didn't feel like a warrior. She didn't feel very powerful.

And by the looks of her, she couldn't shake the feeling she wasn't a very good kunoichi.

So she focused on the other piece of information she was given.

"I'm a doctor?"

"You're more than just a doctor, Sakura-chan!" Naruto sprung forward, placing his hands at the foot of her bed and fixing her under his blue gaze. "You can heal anything- even yourself! Even while you're fighting! And- and you can create whole craters in the ground with just your bare hands!"

Sakura's brow furrowed at the validity of such a claim. The blonde struck her as easily excitable and she wouldn't be surprised if he was prone to exaggeration. She looked to the statue of a man to her right for verification. He simply looked back at her without reaction, seemingly accepting the statement.

'_Kekkai genkai.' _The thought entered her mind before she even fully understood what it meant.

"Do I have… a kekkai genkai?"

Tsunade smiled softly down at her. "No, you do not have a bloodline limit. But you do have perfect chakra control, and that opens a lot of potential doors for you, ability wise. Including your monstrous strength."

"Tsunade Baa-chan taught you how to do that! You two are the strongest women in the village, no doubt about it!" Naruto crossed his arms, a smug look on his face.

Sakura felt her face flush at the praise, a small warmth settling in her chest. She recognized it as pride.

She looked to Sasuke again, hoping to see Naruto's words reflected on his face as well. But his visage was impassive. Almost bored.

The warmth in her chest dropped. Maybe Naruto was exaggerating after all.

"Listen Sakura." Tsunade's tone had changed, it was all business now. "Naruto said before you fell unconscious on the battlefield, you were hit with a very high level Raiton jutsu. Your body is healing just fine- however when I did a full neurological exam…" She stood, looking as if she was trying to figure out how to phrase what was coming next.

"The electricity triggered a very serious seizure. I have to assume this is the main cause for your retrograde amnesia."

The room fell silent.

"….what does that mean?" Sakura asked, her voice quiet but steady.

"It means… it means you've lost a good portion of your personal memories- some may be triggered as you encounter certain stimuli, and much of your muscle memory should still be intact. General knowledge should have been retained- you'll still be able to ride a bike or eat with chopsticks, for example. And obviously you can still utilize and comprehend language." She paused for a moment, fiddling with the stand holding her IV, before continuing. "It's unclear if your memories will come back fully. They could come back gradually, all at once… or not at all. Only time will tell."

"There's nothing you can do to push that process in the right direction?" Sasuke asked, speaking for the first time since she entered. It wouldn't do to have a member on the team who couldn't utilize her own jutsu. It would mean Team 7 would be grounded… indefinitely.

He also had to admit to himself that he didn't like the near indifference Sakura treated him with. He was only a source of information to her at the moment. And though her emotional attachment and clinginess in the past had always been a point of exasperation to him before, he could already feel the dynamic between them had shifted. He wasn't sure what that meant yet, but it made him uneasy.

"No." Tsunade answered sternly. "The brain is a very fragile organ. Basic tissue recovery can be done to the most rudimentary extent. But to attempt anything more…" She shook her head in agitation. "And on top of that, Sakura has already experienced a seizure- which makes her more susceptible to future seizures if her brain is exposed to foreign energy."

Sasuke gave a single nod, indicating he understood. Naruto was not so conceding.

"Well, if foreign chakra is the problem, then she can just heal it herself, right?"

Tsunade shot him a dubious look.

"She can't remember her own name, but you expect her to remember very intricate techniques and procedures that took years of research and training to master?"

Naruto at least had the decency to look chastised.

"You just need time, Sakura." Tsunade said, turning back towards the young pink haired woman she had come to think of as her own daughter. "Just let yourself rest, don't push yourself, and don't stress yourself out trying to remember things. Explore the village, talk with your friends and family, rediscover your passions and likes. It could help bring things back naturally."

Sakura could only nod her head in solemn acceptance.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan!" The blonde man burst in again. "Sasuke and I will help you remember everything!" He flashed her a thumbs up, and for some odd reason, it actually helped her feel a little better about the situation. If only because it showed that she wasn't going to have to navigate this alone.

And so she gave a small chaste smile in response.

xXx

The next day Sakura had been cleared by Tsunade to be discharged. Despite being bedridden and in a coma for three weeks, it turned out her body didn't need any sort of rehabilitation. Tsunade explained that this could be because Sakura's body had been taught to self-heal with minimal chakra excursion so it could maintain itself on the subconscious level. Besides being mildly impressed with her own ability, Sakura was also immensely relieved. If she couldn't have full access to both her mind _or_ body, she feared it might have driven her insane.

The hospital staff had been nice enough- it seemed that every nurse that had come in seemed to know her and treated her with near reverence. But she felt helpless- she was already relying on everyone else to fill her in about her own identity- she didn't want to have to rely on others to reteach her to walk again… or heaven forbid, to go to the bathroom.

So it was with a brilliant smile that she took the pile of neatly folded clothes that Sasuke had brought from her apartment and went into the small attached bathroom to change. She threw the clothes on in a rush, happy to finally be out of the scratchy hospital gown. Adjusting the zipper on her red vest, she turned to examine herself in the mirror.

The moment her eyes beheld her own face for the first time, her breathe caught in her throat. She was so… _colorful!_ Her eyes were a brilliant shade of green, and lighter flecks of mint caught the light and shined when she tilted her head for a closer look. The color of her hair had been a worry of hers ever since she had caught a glimpse of it the other day- after all, who in the world had _pink_ hair? If she had to think of the furthest thing from _dangerous _or _powerful, _that would have been it. But looking at it now… she had to admit it was actually very appealing. If anything, she was certain she could use it to her advantage as a kunoichi. No one would be able to take a ninja with pink hair seriously. Underestimation was often a girl's greatest weapon.

Her face was heartshaped, with clear skin, a small dainty nose, full pink hued lips and her cheeks were even lightly dusted with faded freckles. Her hair was cut in such a way that really complimented the shape of her face, and she couldn't help but feel pretty despite the fact that she hadn't technically had a decent shower in three weeks.

Her bandages had been removed earlier that morning to reveal toned arms and legs, and looking at her body as a whole in the mirror, she was happy to see she was in very good shape. Her sinewy form was lithe without an ounce of body fat. To her slight dismay, she noticed that seemed to apply to her chest as well, but dismissed it easily. After all, if she was a fighter, being heavily endowed would only slow her down anyways, wouldn't it?

She flashed her reflection a genuine smile, more than happy with her appearance, and walked confidently out of the bathroom. Both Naruto and Sasuke were waiting patiently, and with a nod of her head they escorted her out of the hospital.

Sakura reveled in the feel of the sunlight on her skin, taking in the warmth and inhaling a refreshing breeze that tasted distinctly of pine. She bounded down the hospital steps, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited for her chaperones to catch up. Emerald eyes briefly swept over her surroundings, taking in the architecture of the buildings around her and the people mulling about their days.

"Tsunade said it would be good for you to become familiar with the village again. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to start?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh! Oh! I know where we can start, Sakura-chan! It's your favorite place to eat!"

Sasuke shot Naruto a dark look. "Just because she doesn't remember what she used to like doesn't mean you can take liberties in manipulating her to like the things you do."

"Well… she never said she _didn't _like Ichiraku Ramen." Naruto said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "Actually, ramen sounds good to me."

Cerulean eyes lit up victoriously. "Hah!" Naruto exclaimed, giving a good natured punch to Sasuke's shoulder. The dark haired boy didn't even flinch.

"Fine…" He signed in resignation as Naruto began to lead the way to the aforementioned restaurant.

"So…" Sakura started. "How long have we all known each other?"

"We met in the academy! But none of us really became friends until we were assigned to be on the same team as genin." Naruto explained.

"Why not?" Sakura thought they all seemed to get along pretty well- the two boys had only left her side last night after Tsunade practically kicked them out. And despite their near constant bickering, Sakura could tell that Sasuke and Naruto seemed really close. They had exchanged a lot of looks in her presence and seemed to always know exactly what the other was thinking.

"Naruto was a dead last attention-seeking prankster." Sasuke explained, his tone almost bored. He didn't elaborate, seeming to think that was explanation enough. Which it was. Sakura had noticed in the short amount of time she had spent around the two boys that Sasuke carried himself with an air of superiority. It wasn't hard for her to imagine a stuck up little dark haired child not wanting to interact with a loud energetic blonde boy.

"And Sasuke always thought he was better than everyone else." Naruto scoffed, confirming Sakura's observations.

"What about me?"

Both boys exchanged another one of their looks.

"Ehhh… you had like this huge crush on Sasuke." Naruto shrugged, turning to pull a couple flaps back for her and Sasuke to enter under. It appeared they had arrived at their destination. Sakura took a seat on one the available stools, Sasuke and Naruto flanking her left and right, respectively.

The man attending the stand greeted Naruto with "The usual?" and Naruto nodded excitedly back. The cook then turned to her and Sasuke expectantly, and to Sakura's surprise, Sasuke placed an order for the both of them.

Shrugging it off, she turned to Sasuke.

"So how come we weren't friends in the academy?" If she had a crush on him, she must have tried befriending him at one point, right? Unless she had been a shy child?

His dark eyes flicked away from her, but she couldn't discern if it was because he felt embarrassed or uneasy. She turned to Naruto hoping maybe he had an answer, but he was just staring at Sasuke with an upraised brow, his head slightly cocked to the side as if daring him to answer honestly.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she faced her dark haired companion once more, interest officially piqued.

"I was focused on my training. I didn't have the time to make friends." Was his eventual answer.

Naruto's cough sounded suspiciously like 'bullshit!'.

Sasuke shot him a dark glare. "It's not bullshit." He ground through his teeth.

The pink haired woman noticed he had trouble meeting her gaze again. Comprehension dawned.

"You didn't like me very much, did you?" Had she embarrassed herself whilst trying to profess her undying love for him? She visibly cringed at the thought- even if she couldn't remember doing so, she could feel her face heating up in embarrassment.

"It's not that I didn't like you, per say. You were just… annoying." He shrugged nonchalantly.

At that moment, three bowls of steaming hot ramen were set down in front of them. Sakura picked up her chopsticks quickly, her mouth salivating. This looked way more appetizing than any of the food she had been eating since waking up.

"Am I not annoying anymore?" She asked right before shoving a heap of noodles into her mouth.

As soon her mind processed the taste, she audibly moaned and continued to propel ramen past her lips. Naruto's loud slurps and sounds of satisfaction next to her only encouraged her own rapid devourment.

Sasuke looked slightly alarmed.

"Umm…" He began with widened eyes. "Not so much?"

"Obviously Teme had a change of heart, since you are dating now." Naruto chimed in, enunciating his words as much as he could between noodles.

"Wha-?" That took Sakura by surprise. She was dating Sasuke? He had never shown any indication they were together. No hand holding, no sweet kisses on the forehead… actually come to think of it, Naruto had always seemed the most worried about her state than Sasuke had.

Dark hair swayed with a small acquiesce of his head.

Sakura turned back to her bowl and stared down at a tomato floating just above the surface, her mind deep in thought. She was trying to juxtapose this new piece among the others she had slowly been collecting in the puzzle that was her life, but found she was having a hard time making it fit somewhere. A new awareness of Sasuke suddenly opened up as her mind fine-tuned itself to pay more attention to him, and to how he made her feel in turn.

If she had had a crush on this man since childhood into adulthood, he must be a pretty special individual.

Nodding to herself, she popped the tomato into her mouth.

"Sakura- wait!" Urgency in Sasuke's voice was a new experience to her, so she froze, the tomato in her mouth making her resemble a chipmunk.

"You should spit that out. You're allergic to tomatoes." Sasuke explained, regaining control of the pitch in his voice.

_'Awww. So he does worry about me.'_ She gave him a reassuring smile as she began to chew the vegetable.

"I'm pretty sure that's not true." She said, covering her mouth to speak. "The garden salad I had in the hospital had like five cherry tomatoes, and they didn't do anything."

Sasuke's brows furrowed in doubt. "You've always told me you were highly allergic."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and then she would give all her tomatoes to _you._" His tone was slightly accusatory.

Sakura looked between the two of them. "Why does that matter?"

"…. Because tomatoes are my favorite." Sasuke finished quietly.

That struck Sakura as odd. Why would she have to lie about an allergy to share one of her supposed boyfriend's favorite foods with him?

"Awww Sakura-chan! You never shared any of your _ramen_ with _me."_ The blonde said beside her, grasping his chest and feigning hurt. She noticed his bowl was actually already empty.

_'Ramen must be his favorite, then.' _

Knowing he was joking, but feeling torn about the unfair treatment anyways, she pushed her half eaten bowl over to him with a beaming smile.

"Here! All yours!"

Naruto gave her an incredulous look. "Don't play with me." He warned, even as he eyed the remaining contents.

Sakura's laugh was like the tinkling of bells. "No really!" She insisted. "I think I ate way too fast anyways."

Naruto gave her one last moment to back out before shrugging and digging in.

She could feel Sasuke watching her. It was beginning to make her antsy.

"So uhhh… " She started, fishing for more questions that had been on her mind. "You said I had an apartment? Do we… live together, or do I live with my parents, or what's my situation?"

His shoulders tensed ever so slightly.

"No. You live alone." He stirred the contents of his bowl slowly before continuing. "Your parents passed away about two years ago."

Emerald eyes dropped to the table before her, trying to determine how she felt about that. Her parents were dead… but they were essentially still strangers to her. It was like learning the characters from a movie you had never seen had been killed off. The only thing she felt in the midst of this news was slight shame in not feeling anything more.

"How?" Keeping her tone light, she began to fiddle with the edges of a napkin.

"I'm not sure. You never talked about it much."

There was a clinking to her right as Naruto set the now empty bowl down into his first bowl, his eyes trained intensely on the rim.

"They were attacked by rogue ninja while out of the village on a business trip." He answered for her.

That struck her as odd. Naruto knew what happened to her parents, but her boyfriend didn't?

She sent a surreptitious glance Sasuke's way to gauge his reaction. His dark eyebrows were slightly furrowed as if he didn't understand why this was the first time hearing the details of this event either.

She filed the information away to analyze later.

"Do I have any other family?"

"Well, not blood related. But we're your family!" Naruto perked up. "And Ino has always been like a sister to you, and then there's Tsunade Baa-chan. And Kakashi sensei!" He stopped himself then as a thought came to him. "Actually, I only saw Kakashi-sensei come to the hospital to visit you once…" He leaned over the bar to catch Sasuke's attention. "Is he on a mission or something?"

"Dunno." Sasuke said blandly, giving a half shrug.

"We should go look for him. He really has no excuse to not be here when Sakura-chan-"

"That's ok, Naruto." She put a hand on his arm apologetically as she cut him off. "I'm actually feeling rather exhausted. Would it be ok if I just went home and had a nap?"

"Oh yeah, no problem! Tsunade Baa-chan did mention you were going to need a lot of rest as your body caught up and all." He took out some money from his pocket and placed it on the table. She could hear Sasuke shuffling for money as well and she froze, forgetting that she didn't have any money on her.

"Oh no…" She lamented, her hands sweeping over her clothing just in case there were any zippers with hidden coins.

"It's fine, Sakura." Sasuke said, as he placed more than enough money to cover both their bowls.

"Are you sure? I can pay you back as soon as I figure out where I keep my cash…"

"Don't be ridiculous." His dismissive tone assured her this was probably normal.

"Oh, ok.. well, thank you Sasuke." She gave him a small smile which he acknowledged with a nod.

The two boys then escorted her to an apartment building a couple blocks down, walked her up to the second story and stopped in front of a faded seafoam door labeled '42'.

Sasuke produced a key from his pants and unlocked it for her. She stepped inside, turning to face them as soon as she entered the threshold so they couldn't follow her in.

"Thank you guys for showing me home! Sorry we couldn't hang out more… but we can meet up tomorrow if neither of you are busy?"

"Tomorrow?" Naruto echoed in surprise. It was, after all, only about noon. But as much as she appreciated their willingness to be by her side and answer any questions she had, she hadn't truly been alone since she had woken from her coma. Naruto and Sasuke had stayed with her well into the night last night, and when they left Tsunade and a wave of nurses were constantly attending to her, checking her over, making sure she would be ready to leave in the morning. She felt like she just needed some time to herself. She needed to feel like she could breathe and think without others' expecting her to act a certain way or be someone she didn't quite know yet.

She gave him an apologetic smile.

"Yeah I think I'm actually going to knock out. I'm sorry guys."

"Aww. That's ok. We'll be here bright and early tomorrow then." He flashed her a genuine smile, shot a glance between her and Sasuke, and then turned and began walking down the stairs to give them some privacy.

Sakura froze as Sasuke stood in the doorway, silently regarding her. Was he going to kiss her goodbye?

…Did she want him to?

He actually looked a bit uncertain himself, and that made her heart lurch into her throat nervously. Then suddenly he was pulling her towards him in a stiff hug.

"Sleep well." He said softly, before turning to head down the stairs as well.

_'Well that was awkward.' _She thought as she shut the front door. _'Is it always that awkward?' _

Shrugging off the stilted farewell for the moment, she turned to survey her apartment. It was nothing to boast about; there was a decent sized kitchen with a small breakfast bar, a living room that only fit a deep green loveseat and matching armchair, and she could see two doors in the shallow hallway- one bathroom and one bedroom if she had to guess. There was a bookcase behind the armchair and a small side table with a couple drawers and what looked like unopened mail on top.

She rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

It was time to get re-acquainted with Sakura Haruno.


	3. Chapter 3

I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank those who have reviewed- you reassure me that this is worth continuing, so thank you. ^_^ (I've always been more partial to one-shots, and I worry multi-chaptered fics get boring because I have to drag things out to build them up. T_T) But I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far! Your feedback is always appreciated. 3

xXx

An exhausted sigh and shuffle of papers was the only thing to break the silence of the room.

Sakura uncrossed her legs and rose from her spot on the living room floor, leaving the mess of scattered mail on the old carpet. She had just scavenged her entire house from head to toe, rummaging through her belongings to try and grasp what her life had been before.

All her mail had been opened, most of it bills or notices from bill collectors. There was more than a handful, and from several different places. Sakura couldn't make heads or tails what it was even for. It was utterly overwhelming.

They were dated during the time she was in her coma- it couldn't have been her who had opened them before her last mission. So who was going through her mail? And why?

Her mind flickered back to Sasuke who clearly had a key to her apartment- he'd been the one to bring her personal clothes as well. Was he the one going through her mail?

…Was he paying her bills for her?

She made a mental note to investigate that later.

The rest of her possessions didn't give her much to go on regarding her old identity, to her utter dismay. The bookcase was filled to the brim with thick medical tomes- their spines read off very technical words and procedures. It was crazy to her that she must have understood all of it at some point, but in that moment, it was like another language.

There were a handful of other books on the very bottom shelf that looked to be very worn and old- they were works of romantic fiction. Most likely something she had held onto since her childhood.

_'So I was apparently a sap. Good to know.' _She had thought with a roll of her eyes.

Her bedroom didn't offer much either. There had been a couple pictures on the nightstand. One was of a very young Sakura and a little blonde girl laughing against a background of colorful flora. The other was what looked to be a picture of Team 7- she had recognized Naruto and Sasuke's sour faces right away. She was in the middle, looking as giddy as a school girl. And there was a taller man behind them with messy silver hair. She assumed that was the 'Kakashi-sensei' Naruto had been mentioning earlier over ramen.

He looked nice enough, his lone eye squinting in an obvious smile even if the rest of his face was covered.

Why hadn't he come to see her yet? Were they not close?

_'And what's up with the mask, anyway?'_ She thought with a raised eyebrow. Was he shy? Self-conscious? Disfigured? Or maybe he had allergies?

Although she had to admit, the mystery of it was so very… _ninja._

Maybe he just had a taste for theatrics.

Her bathroom had been littered with beauty products and anti-aging moisturizers which gave Sakura the feeling that she had been a bit self-conscious of her own appearance before. But she didn't own a huge variety of clothing; her closet was only halfway filled with essentially the same type of outfit: Her ninja attire. There had been a long grey sleepshirt and one fitted black dress otherwise.

_'How boring.'_ She had thought to herself. Did she not have a sense of style? …Or was it because all she did was work?

'_Or maybe I'm broke…' _Her mind drifted back to the bills she had seen.

In the end, her exploration of the apartment had really only left her with more questions than answers. She felt drained, but not tired- and she was beginning to detect the onset of mild cabin fever. It was suffocating in this stranger's tiny apartment.

Light was smattered across the far wall, and she looked towards the window to see that the beginnings of sunset had cast the village in a brilliant titian glow. It looked quiet outside, as everyone began to settle in for the night.

Mind made up, Sakura snatched the only light jacket she had seen during her exploration of the place and made her way through the front door and down the building steps. Emerald eyes looked to her right, where the boys had brought her from Ichiraku and the hospital. She turned to her left, the dirty cobblestone pathway leading past other apartment complexes and some small homes before rounding off out of sight. She could see trees beyond the corner.

_'Haven't been this way yet. Might as well explore.'_ With a shrug of her shoulders she began a leisurely walk in that direction. There was a light breeze that promised a cool night, and Sakura shut her eyes as it lightly swept through her rosette tresses and breathed relief onto her neck. She found herself caught up again in the strong smell of pine, finding she very much favored the scent.

In the back of her mind she somehow knew that Konoha was surrounded by thick and dense forest, and she couldn't help but be grateful that she had woken up to find herself living in a beautiful place like this.

The buildings were becoming few and far between as she walked and soon she found herself passing by what looked to be a cemetery. It was huge.

_'High death rate in a shinobi village.'_ She reminded herself. An ominous chill made its way down her spine. After her last mission… she could have easily been among those laying six feet under this immense lawn with nothing to indicate her presence but a humble headstone.

Perhaps her parents' names were engraved somewhere on one of the headstones here, darkening with the dying light of day.

It was a sobering thought.

A small movement caught her eye then, and she squinted to see past the numerous graves to a small clearing that beheld a large statue at its center. There was a man standing in front of it- tall, slender. She could tell he had horrible posture even from the distance she stood. But his unusual hair color caught her eye, the very tips of silver glinting red with the last of the daylight.

_'Is… is that…?'_

Aiming for a closer look, she entered the gates of the cemetery and made her way through the morose rows of stone to the clearing at the back. As she closed the distance, she saw the rock at the center was bigger than she had initially perceived it to be. Something was carved all over its otherwise smooth surface, and she felt her stomach drop when the realization hit that they were names. The stone boasted what most have been hundreds of names, and she could only surmise what that meant. And the purpose for the man's presence before her.

In an instant she felt like an intruder. She didn't actually know this man. And she didn't know what had brought him to this stone. But she knew anything she may have wanted to say was not important enough to disrupt this moment.

He had tilted his head in her direction at her approach, however, so she knew he was aware of her now.

"Hello Sakura."

He had a soft voice- rather soothing with a smooth resonance.

"Hello… Kakashi-sensei." She addressed him directly, thinking the familiarity would be reassuring to him.

He turned slightly towards her then, craning his neck just enough to catch her with his lone eye.

"You remember me?"

"Ah- no." She admitted quickly.

He regarded her for a moment, his eye dark and searching. For what, she wasn't sure.

"I'd heard from Tsunade about your current condition." He explained, turning back to the stone.

'_He'd checked up on me after all.'_

She stepped up next to him, sensing he was not offended by her presence. She tried pinpointing which name was the reason for his visit to this memorial, but quickly noticed the distance in his eye and realized he wasn't actually looking at anything in that moment.

There was a heaviness in the air around him that demanded her silence. She patiently waited for him to continue at his own pace.

A whisper of a sigh escaped him.

"I'm sorry, Sakura."

"For what?" For not visiting her in the hospital?

He turned his attention to her once again, pinning her with an intensity that made her nervous. There was a lot of emotion swimming in that lone eye. The most prominent that she could recognized was guilt.

What did he have to feel guilty about? Had something happened between them? If so, that didn't really matter now, did it? She was essentially a clean slate, and the fact that he wasn't trying to manipulate that to his advantage told her all she needed to know about this man.

Her lips upturned in a genuine smile. Whatever he thought he had to feel guilty about, she was going to let him off the hook.

"You're my sensei. Whatever it is you're apologizing for, I forgive you."

He let out an empty laugh, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

"Well… that's the problem, isn't it?"

Her brows came together in confusion.

"I was never a very good sensei to you. I didn't give you enough… I should have been there for you more."

She didn't quite know how to respond, given she couldn't actually remember him shirking his sensei role with her. This was a strange way to re-introduce yourself to your amnesia-stricken student, that was for certain. But she had a feeling that she wasn't the only one who realized how close to death her encounter really had been. Hence why he was having this conversation with her in front of a memorial stone.

"Well…" What could she say to assuage his worries? "I hope you're not blaming yourself for what happened. You weren't my only teacher, you know. And besides, if I've been a kunoichi since I was 12, any shortcomings on the battlefield probably just indicates my own lack of discipline in training."

"The last thing you lack is discipline, Sakura." He shook his head lightly, dismissing her statement. "You've been trained well by Tsunade, who taught you everything she knew. And you've always been diligent in your training."

Turning his entire body to her now, he shoved his hands in his pockets. Everything about his posture screamed vulnerability. She had the strange feeling that this was a rare thing for the man before her.

"The only thing you lacked was something I was responsible for providing to you."

His gaze became distant as he looked off beyond her shoulder.

"Elemental affinities were one of the first things I wanted the three of you to learn. I felt it appropriate to bring in Jiraiya for Naruto and his wind affinity, while I focused on Sasuke personally as we shared the same raiton affinity. But you…" He reestablished eye contact. "I just left you in the wind. I knew from the start you were partial to earth release jutsu, and I was really the only one available to you who could have at least given you the foundation for it. But I didn't. And it almost cost you your life."

_'Ah… the seizure was caused by a powerful ration jutsu, and earth style is strong against lightening style. It could have given me an advantage in that fight.'_

His head nodded to the stone. "If your name had ended up here… it would have been entirely my fault."

Sakura's eyes roved over the scarred stone face.

"But it's not. I'm still here." She gave a half shrug. "And I'd love to learn doton jutsu."

His gaze fell to the dark grass between them, his head nodding absentmindedly.

But his silence made her nervous- he was probably a busy man. He was a part of their team, but that didn't mean he had time to train her like she was some budding genin.

So hastily, she added "-if, you know, you're not busy or anything."

His jaw clenched beneath the mask and his eyes snapped shut as he appeared to be in the midst of some internal conflict.

Then all at once the muscles in his face relaxed and she was presented with the crinkle of a smiling eye.

"Not at all. What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"

He'd abandoned her before… and those who abandoned their friends…

He'd be damned if he ever let her feel like she wasn't worth his time again. He'd be damned if he missed his chance for redemption.

The memorial stone stood witness to his internal promise.

xXx

Sakura walked down the cobblestone street with an extra bounce in her step. Her re-introduction with Kakashi had gone well, she thought. It was obvious he cared very much for her and the rest of the team. He had a depth to him that was easy to distinguish if you knew where to look. Whatever shortcomings he believed himself to have, he proved that he could recognize them with an eagerness to correct them as well. The pink haired girl thought that was a very admirable quality in a person. And an even more dangerous one in a shinobi.

She even had a training date tomorrow! Her heart fluttered in anticipation- she felt like she couldn't wait. The idea of being a kunoichi was exciting, and ever since waking she had been delighted to find this had been her choice of vocation. After hearing some of the things she could do from Naruto, she honestly had been itching to explore her abilities more. But… on her own, she wasn't exactly sure where to start.

With internal focus, she could feel an energy humming within her, pulsing through a myriad of pathways throughout her body. But she was hesitant in calling upon it without fully understanding it first.

So she would wait. Kakashi seemed eager enough to be of assistance, and if all went well she might actually learn some new things that even the old Sakura didn't know!

Rosy lips lifted in a smile. She didn't know where she had ranked as a ninja before, but she was determined to do everything in her power to fulfill her maximum potential. And if what Tsunade had said was anything to go by… that was a lot of potential.

A low growl interrupted her train of thought, and her hand shot up to rub her whining stomach.

That's right, she hadn't eaten anything since Ichiraku that noon. The thought of food now made her absolutely ravenous. She had checked the fridge when she was taking inventory of the entire apartment, and there hadn't been much in there that looked like it could still be edible.

She looked around herself to get an idea of where she was and see if anything still looked open, but she couldn't pinpoint anywhere that looked like a restaurant. Actually, it appeared as if she had wandered into a more residential area- there was a wall to her right where the tiles of homes peeked over, and to her left was a grassy slope dipping into a dark lake that glistened with the reflection of the moon. She threw a glance over her shoulder, trying to calculate how long it would take her to backtrack.

"Damn…" she cursed herself under her breath when she realized she hadn't actually been paying attention to which turns and side streets she had been taking in the first place.

Rising to her tiptoes in a desperate effort to discern her current location, Sakura tried to make out the stony expressions of the hokage mountain through the shadows. She remembered her apartment had been close enough that she had to crane her neck to see the carvings clearly. If she could just locate that mountain face…

But it was too dark, and the moon offered little assistance.

Groaning to herself in time with another protest from her stomach, she turned to face the lake again as her mind raced with what her options were. She could try retracing her footsteps, relying on her subconscious memory to recognize familiar objects, streets or buildings that may lead her back.

But saying her memory wasn't the most reliable thing in her life right now would have been the understatement of the century.

She could keep walking in the direction she was going- it looked like it might wrap around the outskirts of the village. It might take her home. Maybe.

But it looked as if it would be considered the long way.

Her stomach ached with another prominent bewail at the thought.

Well… she could try going back and just finding someone to ask directions to the nearest open restaurant.

But thinking back to her walk from the cemetery to this point… she had seen maybe two people total. Unless she was up for knocking on strangers' doors late at night, she'd rather not wander the streets aimlessly like a stray cat in search for food.

Her chest began to burn as her heart pounded against her ribcage; a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her hunger and seeped into her bones.

It was bad enough to be adrift in your own identity.

But now she was truly lost.

Frustration welled in her throat and she took a deep breath to try and calm the staggering emotion.

A flash of light alerted her peripheral vision, her head swiveling in the direction she had seen it. Green eyes searched the tree line just past the lake, hoping to pinpoint what she had seen and where.

_'There!'_

Another brief flash of orange light rose up from the foliage. Someone was over there.

Perfect!

Pumping her legs in a light jog, she quickly closed the distance between her and the dispersing light, passing under towering trees until she found herself at the edge of a compact clearing. Another burst of light- fire, she realized- highlighted the form of a man standing at the middle.

He was fairly tall, the long dark hair sweeping his mid back held together in a loose low hanging ponytail. She couldn't see his face as his back was to her, but she caught the rapid movement of his hands just as flames burst to life in a sweeping arc before him. Even from this distance, the heat kissed her cheeks and warmed her skin.

"Sugoi…" She breathed, eyes wide with awe.

It was an impressive display- the sickle shaped fire covered 180 degrees of his person, from his 9 o'clock to his 3 o'clock, dispersing with a forward movement of at least 10 feet before tapering out.

She didn't see anyone else on the field besides him that would warrant an actual attack. He must have been training.

His form straightened, reminiscent of a cobra rising to strike.

_'How could such an ordinary movement boast such grace?'_

And then he was looking at her, vermilion eyes reflecting the last of the dying flames.


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! You all inspire me to continue writing in any downtime I have and upload faster! ^_^

xXx

Sakura froze like a cornered rabbit- the man hadn't done anything to make her feel threatened, and she couldn't even say she felt scared. But she couldn't help the reaction from occurring when he pinned her with such a predatory gaze. And his eyes… they glistened like rubies as a thousand tiny embers cascaded around him in a flurry of violent beauty.

Her breath hitched in her chest at the scene as time appeared to slow down.

She was vaguely aware that this was one memory that would stay with her for a very long time.

"Ano…" A bit embarrassed, her eyes flicked to the side. "I don't mean to intrude or anything but… I'm a little lost."

He gave her a quirk of his brow, then bent to retrieve a bag from the ground before turning to walk over to her. She looked back towards him to find his eyes were dark now.

'_Was it a trick of the light?'_

As he drew nearer, she took in the rest of his aristocratic features. The sharpness of his jaw line, the long thick lashes framing dark intelligent eyes, the soft stress lines etched into his face that somehow gave him a more distinguished look. His stride was fluid like a jungle cat, with the same undertone of lethality.

Everything about him screamed '_dangerous'_.

And she was slightly alarmed to find it excited her.

"Lost?" His simple question threw her off- she was too caught up in her own observations of this man and her reaction to him.

"….huh?" Was her intelligent response.

His eyes fluttered shut as his lips quirked upward ever so slightly- she got the feeling he was suppressing a laugh.

"What do you mean you are lost, Sakura?" He tried again, and this time Sakura found herself caught up in the reverberations of his smooth baritone.

She physically had to shake herself out of her thoughts.

_'Wait, he knows me?'_

"I don't know where I am." She stated simply. Clearly he didn't know her condition, but it had only been 24 hours since her awakening.

He just regarded her silently, urging an elaboration.

"I uh… I have amnesia." Her eloquence tonight clearly knew no bounds.

"You were injured during your last mission?" He phrased it as a question but it was declared as a statement. She nodded her acquiescence.

He had recalled his mother fretting over the girl's state after Sasuke and his team had come back from their mission in Lightening Country three weeks back, but as he had been away from the village on his own mission until about an hour ago, Itachi had not heard any updates about her condition.

It seemed his mother had been right to worry. Amnesia was nothing to scoff at.

And it appeared his identity had been stripped from her just as her sense of direction had.

"Where were you trying to go? Home?" If that were the case, Itachi wouldn't be able to help her. He had no idea where the girl lived. He would need to take her back to the Uchiha compound so Sasuke could escort her back.

A loud disgruntled growl answered him for her.

"Eh…. Heh. I was actually hoping to find a restaurant that was still open this late?" Even in the darkness he could see her cheeks now matched her hair in hue.

"I see." Humor colored his voice as he went through a mental list of the establishments that would be available to her at this hour.

"What do you like to eat?" He asked, needing to narrow down a place but realizing he knew essentially nothing about her. Sasuke was scarce on the best of days, but it hadn't escaped Itachi's notice that when he was with his team or his girlfriend, he seemed to avoid Itachi entirely. Sakura had visited their home on several different occasions- he knew because his mother would relish in telling him all about her visits and how ecstatic she was that Sasuke had taken an interest in someone. But Sasuke always planned her visits when Itachi was away on a mission, so Itachi had never actually been present when she would spend time with the family.

As a matter of fact, this would be the first time they ever spoke more than two words to each other.

It hurt that Sasuke had grown so distant from him. That he would intentionally keep his important people away from his own brother. The elder Uchiha was unsure how their relationship had gotten to this, and he had been trying to find a way to bridge the distance between he and his younger brother for a long time. But it seemed everytime he had a moment, Sasuke was engaged in his own responsibilities, or visa versa.

Itachi had a feeling if his younger brother knew he was about to escort his girlfriend to dinner, he would be less than pleased.

Well good. Maybe it would be enough to force him to make time to confront his older brother, and Itachi could use that time to his own advantage.

"I don't really care either way. I'm just starving." Sakura laughed at herself, waving her hand to emphasize her indifference.

"Very well." Itachi threw one of the straps from his bag over his shoulder and strode past her. He stopped not five paces from her when she didn't follow raising an eyebrow at her expectantly.

"Oh! ….Right. Heh…" He waited until she had reached his side before continuing to lead her out of the trees and past the vast darkened lake.

They walked in silence for a couple minutes, but he could sense her discomfort, so it came as no surprise when she decided to break it.

"So… how do we know each other?" Her verdant eyes watched him, thinly veiled interest swimming through them.

She would be disappointed with the answer.

"We know _of _each other, as you are Sasuke's girlfriend. And I am his older brother." Her mouth formed a small 'o' at this new piece of information. "However, we have not interacted for any extended period of time before."

"What? Why not?"

Itachi's lips pursed slightly. "I am not entirely sure, myself."

The two fell into another small silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Itachi watched her out of the corner of his eye as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth, brows slightly furrowed in contemplation. He didn't doubt she had much to contemplate. He was unsure how far her amnesia reached, but he could only imagine the struggle of trying to mentally piece one's life back together.

Sympathy pooled in his chest for her- he may not have been acquainted with her on a personal level, but he had certainly heard of her reputation within the village. She was the Godaime's apprentice after all, and that alone was no small feat. Sakura had really built herself up and created a name for herself. She had come a long way from that young girl that Sasuke would come home and complain about after missions as a genin.

When Sasuke came back from his two year training with Shisui, even he had to admit she had grown strong. Which, Itachi supposed, was why he had finally relented and became open to a relationship with the young pink haired woman. Although, how Shisui explained it was that Sasuke was tired of constantly rejecting her as it hurt the moral on their team, and being 'taken' kept other fangirls off his back at the same time.

Itachi hoped that Sasuke had just told Shisui all that to save face and still seem 'cool', and he wasn't actually using his relationship with Sakura for his own gain.

Even if he hadn't interacted with the couple, he had seen them from a distance often enough. And it was clear to anyone with eyes that Sakura had been deeply devoted to Sasuke and invested in their relationship.

She was a loyal person- she loved Sasuke for who he was as an individual and not for his name, status or power. That was a rare thing. Itachi himself could attest to that.

But he had the distinct feeling that Sasuke was ultimately unaware of what he had in Sakura. That boy was often too focused on himself.

"So what's Sasuke like?" Her soft voice interjected, and it amused him that Sasuke seemed to be the at the forefront of both their thoughts.

"You haven't spent any time with him yet?" The idea didn't actually surprise him- Sakura had always been the one to seek Sasuke out and initiate dates from what he had gathered. If Sasuke was a stranger to her now, that effort would have effectively ceased. And Itachi didn't think Sasuke possessed the initiative to bridge that gap.

"Well… I had lunch with him and Naruto earlier today."

"And what was your impression of him?"

Sakura thought about it for a moment. She wasn't really sure. She liked Naruto; he was enthusiastic and boisterous, and really brought life to a conversation. He also seemed to share her excitement as she rediscovered things, like he was rediscovering them with her. She felt like he was a kindred soul, and could easily see how they were friends.

But Sasuke?

He was… quiet. She honestly felt a bit tense around him and she wasn't sure why. He seemed to always be observing her, and she got the feeling he expected her to act a certain way. But she didn't know how she was supposed to act. She figured she should display more romantic interest in him, since they were a couple and all. But it was hard. She didn't actually know him. Was she expected to just force it and pretend until it became real again?

The idea left a bad taste in her mouth.

Perhaps it would be easier if he actually treated her like his girlfriend, but up until Naruto revealed that she was, she honestly got the impression that they were just on the same team. And that he was the distant, quiet one of the three that begrudgingly got dragged around to do activities with them.

She tried to think about what would have made the old Sakura attracted to him in the first place. He was very handsome. That was an easy reason. But she hoped that she wasn't so shallow for that to be enough reason to start dating someone. He was smart- his eyes were always calculating, observing, dissecting. In that way, she could see the similarity between him and his brother. And she found the thought of trying to outsmart someone even just on a conversational level enticing. Especially if they could give her a run for her money. Intelligence was sexy. So she could confidently say that Sasuke had that going for him. But other than that… Sakura couldn't really get a read off him. Which made him mysterious to be sure, and remembering the sappy romance novels in her apartment, she assumed that may have been a pivotal pull on the old Sakura.

But it wasn't enough for her now. When it came to Sasuke, she felt relatively neutral about him.

"He seems… nice?" She floundered for an answer, finding she didn't really have one.

Itachi nodded in understanding. "Not much of an impression, then?"

The pink haired girl laughed nervously, unable to meet his eyes. She was supposed to be his little brother's girlfriend, and she couldn't even tell him anything positive about Sasuke? She imagined he must think the worst of her.

"It's ok." He amended, as if reading her thoughts. "This situation is new for both of you; you're each trying to get reacquainted with the other. Just give it time. I'm sure the love will follow."

He was right. It might be obvious that Sasuke was a stranger to her now in the wake of amnesia… but she must have been drastically different from the Sakura he was familiar with before as well. It wasn't fair of her to judge him based on his distance- all his calculating glances could be an indication he was just trying to think of the best way to proceed without crossing a line.

Her mind drifted back to his goodbye at her door earlier. If he had tried to kiss her, she would have pulled away. It was just too weird kissing someone she had just met, even if that wasn't the situation for him. But he had hugged her instead, and she was grateful it had been him to draw that line. It put much less pressure on her to wear the mask of someone she didn't know.

"You know what, you're right." Beaming at the man next to her, she continued. "I didn't think of it like that. He's probably just as weirded out by all this as I am."

He gave her a small smile in return before stopping in the middle of the street. Light poured out onto the cobblestone before them, and Sakura followed it to its source- a rather lively restaurant adorned with hanging red lanterns and surrounded by the enticing smell of delicious cuisine. People filtered in and out of the establishment in pairs or threes, and she got the impression this was a pretty popular place to go for the locals.

"Sakura!" A high pitched female voice called out to her, and the clacking of heels on stone was her only warning of which direction it had come from before she was being squeezed by a pair of slender arms and lifted off the ground a good five inches.

As soon as she was released, she turned to her energetic assailant and was met with wide blue eyes and long electric blonde hair. An image of her laughing with a blonde haired girl amongst a field of flowers flitted quickly through her mind.

"I'm so happy to see you out of that bed!" The girl practically squealed. "That drab blue gown did absolutely nothing for your complexion." She winked jokingly.

"Uhhh…" Sakura was cut off by a well-manicured hand on her arm as the blonde girl pulled her towards the door of the restaurant where there were two men who seemed to be waiting for them. "Come on! Choji got us a reservation so we don't even have to wait in line to be seated! I want you to tell me everything!"

Alarm shot through her chest as she realized she was leaving behind the man who had been kind enough to escort her here, but when she turned her head to look back at where he had been standing, he was gone. She craned her neck to look further down the street, but he was no where to be seen.

'_How rude of me.'_ She thought with dismay. '_I didn't even ask him his name.'_

xXx

They had indeed been seated right away, and Sakura found herself sitting next to the rounder man with unique swirl markings on his cheeks. His hair was thick and bushy, and in the crowded booth it tickled at her shoulder with his every movement.

Directly across from her was the girl that had dragged her along, and next to her was a man with dark hair, his onyx eyes only half opened in what looked to be exhaustion.

Nails clicked against the table top in an effort to get her attention, and right when Sakura made eye contact with the blonde before her she launched into a line of question.

"So what happened? You were in the hospital for like three weeks! They said you were in a coma, when did you wake up? When did they release you? Why didn't you come tell me right away? You know I told Sasuke I would give him a deal on flowers for your room and he said that was _'unnecessary'?! _I don't give out deals to just anyone. How are you feeling now? What actually happened to you out there?"

"Sheesh Ino, give her a chance to answer." The tired man cut in. "She's not even going to remember any of your questions at the rate you're going."

"Actually…" Sakura began, unsure. "I uh… don't remember anything."

"What do you mean you don't remember anything? Were you ambushed? Oh, don't tell me- they went after you first because you're the medic right? Such a coward's strategy." She said, rolling her eyes.

"It's actually a very justifiable strategy…" The dark haired man mumbled.

"No… I don't remember the fight… but I also don't remember anything else. Like, about my life?"

This rendered the blonde silent finally. The dark pair of eyes across from her sharpened in interest.

"You mean like amnesia?" The red haired man next to her asked, turning to face her and tickling her arm with his mane of hair.

Sakura was honestly getting tired of explaining her situation to everyone, so she just nodded an affirmative.

The blonde girl laughed loudly. "It's a joke!" She assured. "She's joking!" Then she straightened and her smile dropped suddenly as she pinned Sakura with bottomless blue eyes. "Don't play with me, Forehead."

Sakura didn't know what kind of face she made at the strange nickname, but it was apparently enough to assure everyone at that table that she was not, in fact, joking.

"Oh no…" The blonde said softly. Her eyes were downcast in thought, the other two men seemingly waiting to take their cue from her.

"Well, in that case I guess introductions are needed!" She announced confidently. "I'm Ino- I'm your best friend ever since we were little girls." Sakura was reminded again of the photograph in her bedroom. A brief flicker of a red bow drifted across her consciousness, but it was gone before she could make heads or tails of it.

"And this is Shikamaru." She elbowed the man next to her playfully. "People will tell you he's the resident genius, but we try not to let it get to his head." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"And next to you is Choji! He knows all the good spots to eat- that's why we're here!" At that moment, a waiter came to take their order, and Choji was the one to order for them all.

Well, that had been her assumption based on the amount he had ordered, but when he had finished and Ino and Shikamaru began to place their orders as well, Sakura quickly scrambled to look at the menu before it was her turn.

When everyone's orders were placed, Ino fixed her intense gaze on her once again.

"So, what exactly do you remember?"

"Not much." Sakura admitted, taking a sip from her glass of water. "I remember waking up yesterday, and then whatever has happened since then. I was discharged this morning."

"You remember the outlay of the village?" Shikamaru asked, raising a brow when she shook her head. "What were you doing wandering around a village you don't remember, alone and late at night?"

Feeling slightly scolded, Sakura shot back "I wanted to get some air, and I do remember how to walk."

"Yeah Shikamaru, she's still an adult. She can do what she wants!" Ino chimed in on her behalf.

He raised his hands in mock defense. "I didn't mean anything bad by it. Sorry I asked."

She felt bad for snapping at him, deciding to blame the obtrusive crankiness on lack of rest and hunger for the moment. She needed to start getting her manners in check.

A thought occurred to her then.

"Oh! Did any of you see the man I was with in front of the restaurant?"

"A man?" A blonde eyebrow shot up, Ino's voice sounding scandalized.

"Nope." Shikamaru gave a shrug.

Sakura felt Choji's no against the bare skin of her arm.

Her shoulders drooped with a sigh. "I didn't get his name, and I didn't get a chance to thank him for bringing me here."

"What did he look like?" Ino's heightened eyebrow bounced twice, prodding.

"He was…" Sakura cut herself off

_'Tall dark and handsome? Probably not an appropriate thing for a taken girl to say.'_

"He said he was Sasuke's brother, actually."

The other three at the table exchanged looks.

"Itachi walked you here?" Shikamaru asked, more in confirmation than as a question.

"If that's Sasuke's brother…? Then yeah."

_'Itachi.' _Her mind repeated, attaching the name to the face.

"Why?" Caution coated her voice as she noticed the others' subdued expressions. "Is that… weird?"

"Not weird." Shikamaru offered. "It's just nobody sees him out in public much anymore. He's usually out on missions, and when he's not he basically just keeps to himself."

"And he's _always_ out on missions." Choji emphasized. "Did you know he made ANBU captain at 13? That's insane."

Sakura wasn't sure what ANBU meant, but apparently it was quite the achievement. She wondered what she had been doing at 13.

'Probably reading those god-awful romance novels.' She scoffed internally.

"Anyways, I'm totally jealous." With a flick of her long blonde hair, Ino continued. "He's Konoha's most eligible bachelor ever since-" A sharp glance from Shikamaru made her redirect whatever she was about to say. "I mean just look at him! He's been described as the perfect shinobi. Never lost a single fight. Although I talked to him once outside the interrogation office. It was all business with him- he was completely immune to my charms."

"What charms?" Was Shikamaru's dry response.

Ino thoroughly ignored him. "If you ask me, the conversation was a bit one sided. He was kind of… boring." She shrugged her shoulders in indifference. "Disappointing really."

Sakura thought Ino couldn't be more wrong. Her own conversation with him had proven him to be rather insightful, and she had come away from it feeling uplifted with a different perspective.

She didn't see the point in arguing with the blonde though. Just then their food arrived, and the conversation turned to talk of the past- of memories they all shared with her.

She smiled softly through Ino's story of how they became friends- when she had defended her from some name calling bullies and had given her a bow to embrace her 'freakishly large forehead'.

The image of the bow surfaced again and although Ino didn't mention its color, she somehow knew it had been red. The blonde girl unknowingly confirmed a brief memory that had risen to the surface. But Sakura kept this to herself for now.

She found it amusing how Ino had turned a nickname that apparently tormented her as a child into a term of endearment. She even told her Sakura's own nickname for her was 'Pig'- but the pink haired girl didn't feel comfortable using that just yet. It was becoming obvious that although their friendship had a taste of rivalry on the surface, it ran deep with fierce loyalty and compassion.

She listened with rapt interest when Ino told her about the time in the Forest of Death when she sheared her own hair off to escape an enemy, and how proud Ino had been of her, even if she looked like 'a five year old had been left unattended with scissors'.

The beautiful blonde embarrassingly admitted that their friendship had been on hiatus during that time because they had declared themselves love rivals for Sasuke.

'_Looks like I came out the winner for that one.' _

She laughed until her face hurt when Shikamaru recounted the time in the academy when both girls had been horrified to witness Sasuke's first kiss- with Naruto. She could only imagine Sasuke and Naruto's faces…

Her three friends continued to fill her in with anecdotes from their shared past well into the night, even after Choji had finished cooking his last slice of meat.

As they filtered out the front doors of the restaurant, Shikamaru offered to walk her home, claiming her apartment was on the way to his own family compound. Ino looked like she wanted to tag along, but in the end exhaustion won out and she began walking the opposite direction with Choji, promising to catch up with Sakura more tomorrow.

Guilt nagged at pink-haired girl once more as she walked besides the taller male. He had volunteered to walk her home, clearly remembering she didn't know her way around the village and saving her the embarrassment of having to admit it out loud again.

"Sorry if I snapped at you earlier. I think I was just hungry."

He shrugged her apology off. "Trust me, I know how women get when they're _hangry_."

She giggled at the term, finding it appropriate.

She caught him stealing a quick side glance at her, but when he didn't say anything her green eyes pinned him with a look of her own.

"What?" She pressed.

He gave a long, exaggerated sigh, as if even pulling his thoughts together to answer her was asking too much effort from him.

"Look, I don't like getting involved in other people's affairs but… since you don't remember I think it's only fair to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" She hoped it wasn't anything bad concerning the other two they had eaten dinner with. She found she really enjoyed their company, and fervently wished there wasn't any hidden drama there.

"It's probably best you don't mention meeting Itachi to Sasuke."

This brought her to pause their brisk walk, and he turned slightly to maintain eye contact, bracing himself for the questions that were sure to come.

"What? Why not?"

"Sasuke is a bit sensitive when the subject of his brother comes up. I've noticed it makes him… temperamental, I suppose you can say."

"He doesn't like his own brother?" She probed, trying to understand this new dynamic.

"I don't think it's that- he basically worshipped him as a kid. It was always Itachi this and my nii-san that." He shrugged. "But something changed as he got older. I don't know the details. I just remember Ino telling me that you would sometimes confide in her when you and Sasuke would fight… and a couple of times it had been over Itachi."

A question formed on her lips, but Shikamaru held his hands up to stop her.

"Like I said, I don't know any details. But I have my theories."

She wanted to ask him to elaborate on said theories, to try and get a better understanding, but he chose that moment to continue walking so she hurried to fall into step beside him.

"If you want to know more, you'll have to talk to Ino." He sighed dismissively, obviously hoping she would not push him further. So she reluctantly refrained.

She'd just have to draw her own theories then.

Sakura bid him a goodnight as they approached her apartment building and thanked him for walking her home. He gave a halfhearted wave as he continued walking up the street.

As soon as she crossed through her front door and shut it behind her, she began peeling off her clothes on the way to the bedroom before flopping onto the bed.

Naruto and Sasuke said they would come by in the morning, she had training with Kakashi in the afternoon, and Ino said she would look for her later that evening. One way or another, tomorrow she was going to get some answers.


	5. Chapter 5

A loud clamor startled the young woman from her rest. Green eyes peered sleepily towards her bedroom door as if willing it to be transparent and allow her to see the other side without having to get up.

She kicked off her blanket and stood, adjusting her pajama top that had somehow twisted itself around her torso.

Another muffled sound emerged from the other room.

Was someone in her apartment?

More alert now, she crept towards her door, staying light on her feet to keep the wooden floorboards from creaking beneath her.

She opened her door as quietly as she could and peered through. Directly in her line of vision was her kitchen, and in it stood a tall blonde, frantically waving a towel at a small fire that licked its way upwards from the stove top.

"Shit! Sasuke!?" His desperate plea for help fell on apathetic ears.

"You look like you've got it handled." A strong voice answered.

Sakura stepped out to see Sasuke sitting on the couch, a kunai and cloth in his lap- she could smell the strong chemical smell of polish. He had a smirk on his face as he watched Naruto ruffle his hair in panic, but his dark eyes moved to her when she came into sight.

He offered a small nod, smirk still in place, amusement dancing in his eyes.

She smiled in response, thinking he looked much more handsome when he was displaying emotion.

She made a mental note to try and make him laugh more.

He broke eye contact suddenly when his eyes darted back to Naruto just as he threw a cup of water onto the fire.

A burst of heat hit the side of Sakura's face just as Naruto let out a shriek so high a pitch, Sakura would have mistaken it for the cry of a small child if she didn't witness it come from a grown man.

"That's a grease fire, Dobe!" Sasuke boomed, and he was off the couch and in the kitchen so fast Sakura questioned if she blacked out for a moment.

_'He's fast.'_ She acknowledged, turning to face the disaster that was unfolding in her kitchen. Naruto wore an expression of absolute horror as he pressed himself against the counter and away from the fire currently trying to snake its way up the cabinets. Sasuke slammed a large cookie sheet over the inferno on the stove, effectively cutting it off from the source. He shot a deadly look at Naruto.

"So… you guys come over to demolish my apartment often?" Sakura asked with light humor.

Naruto's eyes darted up and to the left before looking guiltily at his feet, and Sakura followed his gaze to find an actual hole in one of the tiles of the ceiling on the other side of the living room. How had she missed that before? Apparently this wasn't his first debacle.

She had the feeling she wouldn't be getting any kind of security deposit back on this place.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! I just wanted to make you some breakfast!" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes, complete with singed eyebrows, and she couldn't help but laugh. His confused expression told her he had expected a more volatile reaction.

But what did she care? Sure, the upper cabinets were now tinged black from the flames, but the original color was horrible anyways.

Even if this is where she lived, it felt distant to her. It wasn't really her home.

With a sigh, Sasuke left the kitchen to go back to the living room. "We'll just grab something in the village." He stated, picking up several kunai that were laid out neatly on the table. "Here, they hadn't been cleaned since the last mission." He stated, handing them to her.

She accepted them awkwardly. "Oh, thanks."

"We were thinking after eating, you'd want to join us in the training grounds? You don't have to spar if you're not feeling up to it yet." He said by way of explanation.

"Yeah we thought maybe just seeing a spar would help you remember some things!" Naruto came up beside her, hands on his hips and a radiant smile on his face.

Well how could she say no to that?

"Ok." She agreed with a smile of her own. "Let me go get dressed."

xXx

After breakfast, the trio made their way to the training grounds. Sasuke had insisted on paying for Sakura again, even though she had been sure to bring her own money this time. Sakura didn't put up much of a fight, too excited at the prospect of seeing what the two men beside her were capable of. They had been passive aggressively taunting each other throughout the entire morning. It was apparent that this was their process- they would hype each other up and feed the tension between them right up until they could spar. She could feel both the bodies beside her practically thrumming with chakra and anticipation.

And it made her body thrum in anticipation as well. These were her teammates- they had fought beside one another, protected one another, relied on each other.

If she was on their team, seeing their ability should be a good measure of her own.

Right?

They finally stopped at a large open grassy field. Naruto began stretching out an arm half-heartedly.

"You want first go, Sakura?" He asked, mischief gleaming in his blue eyes.

"Oh no, I'll leave you boys to it." She waved him off. "Besides, Kakashi-sensei said he would come by at noon to train with me a bit one on one." She had to remember to tack on the 'sensei' to the man's name.

Sasuke's head tilted to the side in thought. "When did you see Kakashi-sensei?"

"Ha!" Naruto interrupted loudly. "If he said he'll be here at 12, you won't be seeing him until dinner. But suit yourself! You can just watch me pummel Sasuke into the dirt until then." He shrugged, his face all business.

"Keep dreaming." Sasuke muttered.

Their eyes connected- obsidian met cerulean- and then there was nothing but gently swaying grass where they had stood.

Startled, Sakura's eyes darted around searching for them. The growing shadows on the ground prompted her to look skywards, and sure enough, they were already locked in battle mid air.

She lightly jogged to a large tree on the edge of the field, ensuring that they were given a wide enough berth. She had a feeling they weren't exactly the types to pull punches.

And she was right. As she watched on, the young woman was in awe of what she witnessed.

The two men were a blur of orange and navy blue. By the time her ears picked up the metallic ring of kunai against Kusanagi to her left, they were already flashing in sight to her right. They met each other head on, again and again. The kick, punch, elbow, knee of one being blocked, parried, or carried through by the other. And though admittedly her eyes could not follow every movement, she could not look away. The pair seemed to be displaying a deadly dance- a parody of battle- with movements so graceful and seamless, every action seemed to set up the other's reaction. It was like they could read each other, effortlessly.

Is this what she used to look like?

Could she ever reach that level again?

Determination settled in her chest, her eyes hardening on the spar before her.

She would. She would reach her previous level- and surpass it.

She was kunoichi. She was shinobi. She was a part of the elite, like the two on the field. It wasn't a matter of if, only a matter of _when._

Sakura was not going to let a slight hiccup in her life keep her from progressing. She was going to see to it that the name Haruno Sakura was said in reverence, even if she had to start over from scratch.

With the fire within her sufficiently stoked, she continued to watch the men before her. But instead of passive awe, her eyes sharpened on their movements, predicting what they were going to do next. Deciding what _she_ would have done next if it had been her, in the milliseconds it took between actions.

She could feel her muscles twitch in reaction with a dodge, a punch, a kick. Her heart began to pound with awakened adrenaline as her mind fully immersed in the fight before her.

"You look like you're ready to jump in."

The cool voice from behind startled her, and her hand flew to her chest as her heightened heartbeat spiked in surprise.

"Or… out of your skin." She turned to find the culprit rubbing the back of his neck with chagrin, his crinkled eye offering an apology at sneaking up on her.

"Geez Kakashi-sensei, you scared me."

"Sorry about that. But consider it a lesson in being aware of your surroundings."

"Yeah, yeah."

She stood, brushing stray strings of grass off her legs, and glanced back to the boys who didn't even seem to notice there was an additional presence on the field.

"Are they always this intense?" She whispered.

"Oh yes, for as long as I have known them." The silver haired man watched her out of the corner of his eye. Her sharp eyes were trained on them with a fervency he had never seen from her before- and he could tell it was very different from the interest she would show before just because she was watching Sasuke. Her body was tense, like a dog ready to attack as soon as it was given the command. Whenever he thought back to training with her before, she always came off as nonchalant- like she was indifferent to even participating. Like she was just indulging her team, trying to be a part of it but not wanting to take any attention off her teammates.

She had always cared too much of what others had thought of her.

But this Sakura was different. She was eager. She was focused. She had shown up for the betterment of herself, not just to feel like a part of Team 7.

His observations piqued him. Sakura had always been a top-notch student, but now he was eager to see exactly how much more she would apply herself.

"Are you ready?"

Her emerald eyes sparkled up at him like she was a five year old and he had just offered her free ice cream.

"You bet!"

He smirked beneath his mask and began walking to a separate corner of the clearing, hearing her fall into step behind him.

When he stopped to face her, her eyes still held the spark of excitement but a small shadow of hesitation dulled it.

She was willing to push herself, but the girl before him no longer knew her own body and what it was capable of. Jumping right into a spar would be like jumping into the ocean when never having swam before- could you trust your body to just know what to do on instinct?

"We'll start with the basic kata, let your muscles remember the correct forms. And then we'll move into simple sparring- taijutsu only at first until you feel comfortable to enough to start integrating ninjutsu."

She gave a quick nod of her head, a smirk sliding into place across her pink lips.

A rush of satisfaction filled him as he watched the hesitation in her eyes evaporate.

xXx

Sakura went through her kata forms flawlessly- with a little technical correction from Kakashi in the beginning. But it seemed her body did remember the forms even if she herself didn't. Although Kakashi sensei claimed that she had always been a very quick learner- whichever the case may be, Sakura was grateful. The kata had given her more confidence and familiarity with her body, and she was eager to test her mettle.

Standing across from Kakashi on the field, the sounds of continuous conflict from the boys on the other end faded into the back of her mind. Her focus narrowed on the silver haired man before her, muscles tensed in anticipation.

A lone slate eye watched her with calm reserve. His stance was a mixture of lackadaisical and feigned disinterest.

He was obviously inviting her to have the first move.

"You don't have to worry about strategy at this stage- it's best to just rediscover your own fighting style first—"

But strategy was the last thing on her mind as she charged forward and took a swing at him- which was harder than she expected with their considerable height difference.

She missed, of course.

He leaned back and away from her fist, and with his center of gravity shifting backwards she took the opportunity to kick at one of his legs.

But he jumped into a backwards flip, landing five feet away from her.

Her arms fell to her sides in frustration.

"How am I going to relearn how to spar if you're just going to dodge and run away?"

"You'll have to excuse me. A punch or kick from you used to mean certain death, you know. Old habits." He shrugged.

She glanced at her fist in wonderment. It felt more like she was going to dislocate her own shoulder than do any damage to an enemy.

"But I also wanted to make sure you weren't going to utilize chakra in your attacks- it used to be second nature for you. I was uncertain if your body would automatically fall back on that."

He took a couple steps closer to her.

"It looks like I won't need to be worrying about that yet, however."

Sakura frowned, wondering how easy it would be to relearn that trick.

But then Kakashi was suddenly right in front of her, and she was blocking an elbow, sidestepping a knee and throwing an elbow of her own. She smirked through the constant and methodical movements.

At least this seemed to come easy to her.

xXx

When Kakashi finally decided to call it a day, Sakura's chest was heaving and her loose shirt clung to her wet skin.

Their shadows were long against the grass, and a cool breeze was finally beginning to breathe through the field as the hottest part of the day waned.

At some point during their spar the boys had finished their own fight and brought back premade bento boxes from a nearby shop for the four of them. Sakura plopped down next to Naruto and across from Sasuke while Kakashi scooped his box up and leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Water?" The pink haired girl asked, breathless.

Naruto held one out and she snatched the bottle and downed it so fast he could only stare with a look of downtrodden amazement.

"Actually, that was mine… I was just offering you… some…" He mumbled.

Sakura smacked her newly refreshed lips and gave a half apologetic smile before digging into her food. She was ravenous. She didn't give a second thought to the company around her as she was already stuffing the next onigiri into her mouth without having even chewed the first yet.

Naruto was still staring at her with lightly veiled horror.

"Please do make sure not to choke." Was Kakashi's offhanded comment as he discreetly ate his food even faster than she was.

She stopped long enough to thump Naruto on the forehead with her chopsticks.

"Don't stare at me while I eat. It's rude."

He let out a small "Ow!" before gingerly rubbing his forehead.

A throat cleared from across from them and Sakura looked up to see Sasuke sitting cross legged, back straight and perfectly poised while he held his bento in one hand and clean chopsticks in the other.

"You looked good out there, Sakura."

His compliment took her off guard and she struggled to choke down a mouthful of rice but in her haste it went down the wrong pipe. Sputtering as gracefully as she could, she grabbed at the other water bottle laying in reach and gulped down a couple mouthfuls.

A loud sigh and "What did I say?" Could be heard from behind her.

Wiping the excess moisture from her mouth with the back of her hand, she looked back up to the dark haired man in front of her with a genuine smile.

"Thanks!"

Sasuke's expression was a mix of slight disgust and barely concealed amusement.

"You got that right!" Naruto chimed in, hitting her back with the palm of his hand a couple times as if she was still choking.

"Next time, I call dibs on Sakura-chan!"

"Not so fast, Naruto." Kakashi slumped onto the grass between Sakura and Sasuke. She noticed he was completely done with his food already.

"Sakura did really well today, but it was strictly taijutsu. It's important that she relearns her foundations thoroughly before moving into a more serious spar."

Naruto made a face. "Well, how come I can't help her with some of the foundations?"

"Because." Sasuke cut in sharply. "You don't know the meaning of 'self restraint'."

"_I_ don't know self restraint?!" The blonde shot back. "Who was the one who pulled a Chidori out of his ass when he was starting to lose?!"

A dark eyebrow twitched. "I only brought out Chidori when I saw your chakra swirling in the palm of your hand. You trying to pretend like I can't tell when you're building Rasengan?"

"Nah nah nah." Blonde hair swept back and forth as Naruto vehemently shook his head. "I only _started_ Rasengan when I heard that horrible _shrieking _start-"

"Aaaaand that's why neither of you will be allowed to spar with Sakura for some time." Kakashi cut in nonchalantly. "Neither of you know the meaning of restraint."

His silver eye sharpened into cold steel. "And I shouldn't have to remind both of you that jutsu like Rasengan and Chidori should _not_ be used against allies."

Both boys went back to eating their meals as if they had suddenly fallen deaf.

Kakashi sighed, his eye rolling skyward.

"In any matter, I know I promised to teach you doton justu, Sakura, but I think you will truly benefit from more practices like today before we venture into ninjutsu. Your taijutsu has never been something to scoff at, but that was because you relied on brute strength to get the job done. However, I saw an agility and fluidness in your taijutsu today that I had never seen you display before. If you can master that and then add in your strength… well, let's just say I wouldn't want to meet you on the other end of a real fight."

Her face warmed at such genuine and flattering critique.

"It's ultimately up to you, though." He was looking at her, an unease in his features. "A promise is a promise, and if you want me to make good on mine sooner rather than later, then I will."

She offered a brilliant smile to quiet his uncertainty. "No, your way is good. And you're right- I don't want to bite off more than I can chew and have too much too fast. I might end up choking again." She grabbed her throat and stuck her tongue out for emphasis, causing the older man to chuckle.

"Very well, meet here again tomorrow, same time?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Good." He pushed himself off the grass and lazily stretched out his back. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have to go see about a goat. Jaa Ne!"

He disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

Sakura watched them sleepily twirl towards the ground.

"Wait… what goat?"

Both boys shrugged.

"We don't ask anymore." Sasuke warned.

"Yeah, one time we actually followed him to check the validity of his weird excuses and… well… " Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks, then Naruto set his bento down and gently pushed it away from himself. Clearly he had lost his appetite.

"Let's just say you should be glad you don't remember _that_, at least." He offered as the only explanation.

Only slightly disturbed that her sensei could be a real weirdo, Sakura finished up her bento before standing.

Both boys looked up at her.

"What you wanna do now, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Take a shower, for one." The breeze felt nice and all but her shirt was still sticking to her back and she was beginning to feel itchy from the grass.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Sasuke offered, even though he was still gingerly eating his meal.

"No, that's fine. I'll be ok. Thanks for inviting me along with you guys today. It was fun." She offered them a smile then turned to walk back to her apartment.

Overall she felt very satisfied by the day thus far. She was beginning to become more comfortable with the dynamic between her and her teammates, and she really enjoyed training with Kakashi. He was patient and observant, and she looked forward to training with him tomorrow as well. Her own body impressed her, reacting so swiftly she hardly had to think about it at all. It excited her to feel as if she had learned so much about herself and her own fighting style in just one day.

The only thing she didn't gain any new knowledge in was the relationship between her and Sasuke. Him volunteering to walk her home could have given her the opportunity for a little one on one time that may have alluded some foresight.

But she would prefer to get a little history before jumping into that just yet.

First- a nice refreshing shower.

Then- to find Ino.


End file.
